Improvement in horn taps and tips for boots and shoes



W. F. PRU SHA & H. coax.

HORN TAP AND TIP FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. No.17 9,219.. Patented. June 27,1876.

WITNESSES. v Q M12:

".PFIERS. PHOYO LITHOGRAPHER WASHINGTON, D. ,0.

UNITED STATES TE FFIE.

WILLIAM F. PRUSHA AND HOBATIO COOK, OF MARLBOROUGH, ASSIGNORS TO THEMSELVES AND W. B. BRIGHAM & 00., OF HUDSON, MASS.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORN TAPS AND TIPS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. I 79,219, dated June 27, 1876; application filed May 27, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM F. PRUSHA and HORATIO QOOK, of Marlborough, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Horn Tap and Tip; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents the bottom of a horn tap. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on line .7000, Fig.1; and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a combined tap and tip. Fig. 4 repre sents the tip separate.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawings denote the same parts.

Our invention relates to tips and soles for boots and shoes; and consists, first, in a tap made of horn; and, second, of a combined sole and tip made of that material.

Heretofore, as we are well aware, separate tips of metal and of leather have been applied to boots and shoes, and leather tips have been made as a continuation of the outer sole. The materials specified, though practical, and of great utility in their application, are subject to some disadvantages, which it is the object of our invention to avoid.

In the application of tips of metal to boots and shoes, there is this great advantage, that the tips can be cheaply made, and are dura= ble; but there is also this disadvantage, that the metal cannot be colored or polished, and

give the shoe an undesirable appearance. The

consequence of this is that the well-known copper tip has been applied in the trade Our object has been, first, to find some material which would combine the desirable qualities of all these. After long-continued experiments we have produced a tip made'from the horns or boots of animals, which fulfills the requirements of the case in every respect.

We manufacture this tip by the well-known methods of manipulating this material used. It may be softened, cut, and pressed into shape in the manner commonly used by manufacturers of articles which are made of this material, and it may be applied to the boot or shoe in the same way as the tips of other material have been applied.

The tip may be colored to conform exactly to that of the leather, and may be made thin, so as to present a neat and finished appearance. It is also easily susceptible of polish, and is not in any way affected by changes of temperature or by moisture.

We have thus far described the tip as separate, and applied to the shoe in the same manner as the ordinary copper tip. It may also be made as apart of the outer sole. This is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The sole and the tip may be formed by softening and pressing, in the same manner as the tip alone. The sole thus made is hard and capable of a great amount of Wear, and also gives the boot or shoe a neat and finished appearance.

We claim as our invention 1. As an improved article of n'ianufacture, a shoe-tip made of born, as set forth.

2. A combined sole and shoe-tip, made of horn, as set forth.

WILLIAM FRADRIOK PRUSHA. HORATIO (JO-OK.

Witnesses:

Vo. HENRY PEDRIGK, GEORGE W. W. EDsoN. 

